Jingyi Li treats lace not as embellishment, but as a sculptural material.
Jingyi Li is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans textiles, fibre and sculpture. Working primarily with lace and soft materials, Li challenges traditional distinctions between craft and fine art, transforming materials commonly associated with domesticity and femininity into intricate sculptural forms. Through processes of stitching, layering and hand assembly, she explores themes of intimacy, memory and feminist identity, examining how objects and materials carry personal and cultural histories. Her practice draws on craft traditions and material culture, reconsidering the relationship between the body, labour and the handmade.
Li received her BFA in Craft Arts (Fibre Art) from Tsinghua University, Beijing (2022), and her MA in Jewellery and Metal from the Royal College of Art, London (2023). She is currently pursuing postgraduate research in Visual Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her recent exhibitions include a solo presentation A Tender Puncture (2026), Absent Gallery, Guangzhou, The Many Within Her II (2026), Gillian Jason Gallery, London, A Charm of Powerful Trouble (2026), ACUD Galerie, Berlin, and On the Other Way (2025), Hub/Art, Barcelona. Li was an artist-in-residence at the Sarabande Foundation (2025–2026) and was shortlisted for the Ingram Prize and the House & Garden Craft Prize in 2026, as well as The Hari Art Prize in 2024.
